THE daughter of Interior Ministry Secretary of State Em Sam An has been banned for

life from entry into Singapore after she was caught attempting to carry a handgun

onto a flight to Phnom Penh.

A government source told the Post that Em Socheata, 27, was discovered to have been

in possession of "a small personal handgun" on Feb 27 as she passed through

customs on her way to catch a flight back to Phnom Penh.

The source downplayed the seriousness of the incident, saying that Socheata's "extremely

emotional" reaction to the gun's discovery was evidence of her lack of malign

intent in carrying the weapon.

"[Socheata] probably has many different handbags, but on that particular day

she accidentally chose the one with a handgun inside," the source said.

Although Socheata was allowed to board a Phnom Penh-bound flight later the same day

after several hours of questioning, she has been banned from future travel to the

city state.

When contacted by the Post on March 14 about the incident, Em Sam An dismissed it

as "a minor problem".

"The Singapore authorities already ironed [this problem] out,...[Socheata] was

detained for only a few hours," Sam An said.

Before hanging up Sam An asked the Post not to write about the incident warning that

if it did "...you will be in trouble with me."